


New Things

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26153860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex decides he's ready to try drinking for the first time.





	New Things

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based on my personal life.

“I know I’ve asked you this, like, a thousand times by now, but are you sure you feel ready for this?” Jack asked as Alex pulled out of the parking lot of their high school and started to drive to Jack’s house.  
“Yeah, I think I am, I really appreciate all of the concern and precaution, but I think I’m ready to finally do this,” Alex replied.  
“I’m glad to hear that, but if you change your mind sometime between now and when we get back to my house, that’s totally okay. I just want you to know that,” Jack stated.  
“Well, if I do change my mind, I’ll tell you, but I think I’m really ready. I did always tell you that if I were ever going to try alcohol, I’d want it to be with you. Having you there with me will make this a lot less scary for me,” Alex explained, making Jack smile some.  
“I’m glad to hear that, and I’m glad you want to have your first drink with me, too, especially after I gave you so much shit for not drinking last year that one time you slept over at my house,” Jack said, sounding a bit guilty.  
“Don’t worry about that, dude, you didn’t know. Besides, you were the first person I told about my situation with my dad drinking when I was younger, and you were the easiest to talk to about it. Granted, the only other people I’ve told are Rian and Zack, but telling you was definitely the least nerve wracking,” Alex explained, as he turned down Jack’s street.   
“I’m glad to hear that, man. Don’t worry, I’m going to make tonight as fun as possible for you, so your first drinking experience can be great,” Jack said back.  
“I’m glad your family is gone. Don’t get me wrong, I really like all of them but the fear of possibly getting caught would definitely make this whole thing even more scary,” Alex replied.  
“For sure. I’ve almost been caught by my family, and a couple of times at Rian’s house. That feeling definitely takes away the fun parts of drinking,” Jack stated. Alex pulled into the driveway and turned off the car.  
“I know it’s a Friday, and this is probably the last thing you want to do, but do you think we could do some homework before we drink? I actually have a lot of it, and would feel a lot better about everything if I get at least a bit of it done,” Alex explained, as the two of them got out of his car, and grabbed their backpacks.  
“That’s fine, we should have a snack or something while we do it. We hardly had anything for lunch and drinking on a mostly empty stomach is a bad idea, it’ll get you drunk insanely fast,” Jack replied, unlocking the front door.  
“Shit, really? I didn’t even know that was a thing,” Alex said, sounding a bit nervous.  
“We’ll be just fine. Go sit at the table, and start your homework, and I’ll get some snacks for us,” Jack offered, walking over to the kitchen.   
Alex went into the dining room, and took a seat at the table, then pulled out his math and English folders. As he started to do his Geometry work, he couldn’t help but notice the feeling of anxiety pooling in his stomach. He didn’t want to be nervous about drinking, he was with his best friend in a safe place, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling.   
Not much later, Jack walked in, holding two sandwiches and some chips.  
“We didn’t have a lot, so I did what I could. I think we should order pizza for dinner later,” Jack said, handing Alex a plate before sitting down at the table.  
“That sounds like a great idea,” Alex replied, smiling some. The two of them started to diligently work on their homework as they ate. Once about two hours had gone by, Jack looked over at the clock, and was surprised it was already so late.  
“Holy shit, Alex, it’s already almost six. Do you think you’re at a decent stopping point?” Jack asked, starting to close his notebooks.  
“Damn, I didn’t realize this much time had passed. Yeah, I think I can be done now,” Alex decided, closing his English notebook.  
“Why don’t you go on downstairs, and I’ll order that pizza, then come down,” Jack suggested.  
“Sounds good to me. Pepperoni, please!” Alex requested as he got his stuff together, then made his way down to the basement.   
Alex took a seat on the couch and wrapped himself in a blanket, since it was so much cooler downstairs. While he waited for Jack, Alex did some things on his phone, and tried his best to ignore the anxiety that just wouldn’t seem to go away.   
After a few minutes, Jack walked down the stairs, looking excited.  
“Alright, let’s get this night started,” Jack stated, walking over to the fridge.  
“Let’s do it!” Alex replied with a smile that felt slightly forced.  
“So, I went to the liquor store the other day in preparation for this night, and I got something that I really like, I got us a twelve pack of Bud Light!” Jack exclaimed, pulling the case of beer out of his fridge.   
Alex instantly felt himself tense up as his stomach started to flip some.  
“What’s wrong? Do you not want to do this?” Jack asked, feeling a bit concerned for his friend.  
“It’s not that I’ve changed my mind on the whole thing, but, um, beer is what my dad used to drink, so it kind of triggers me. I’m sorry, dude, I really should’ve told you that so you wouldn’t have wasted your money,” Alex explained, sounding embarrassed.  
“Don’t apologize, I didn’t even think about that, and I should’ve. There’s some wine upstairs, would you prefer that?” Jack continued.  
“Wine sounds fine, but isn’t the stuff upstairs your parents’? I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble for taking it” Alex pointed out.  
“Yeah, it’s my mom’s, but I can just go to the liquor store tomorrow and get a replacement, don’t worry about it,” Jack assured, putting the beer back into the fridge.  
“I’ll pay for it, if you want,” Alex offered.  
“You don’t have to, I just want you to enjoy tonight,” Jack replied.  
“Well, if you’re sure you’re okay with all of that, I think I would definitely prefer wine,” Alex decided.  
“No problem, I’ll go get it,” Jack said, going back upstairs.   
He went to the cabinet in the dining room that his parents kept their liquor in and looked at the different kinds of wine that were available. After browsing, he settled on a rose, since they tended to be sweet, and he figured Alex would prefer that over a bitter wine.   
Once he grabbed two glasses, he went back downstairs, and sat next to Alex on the couch.  
“Okay, I think you’ll like this. Some wine can be really bitter, and that’s more of an acquired taste. This one should be pretty sweet, so you’ll probably think it’s fine,” Jack explained, as he filled the glasses up.  
“That sounds pretty good to me, to be honest,” Alex replied, smiling some since he was starting to feel a bit more confident about everything.  
“Here’s your glass. It’ll probably taste kind of strong, but that’s just the alcohol. Don’t focus on that as much. Do you want to do a cheers to commemorate this, since it’s your first time drinking?” Jack asked, holding up his glass.  
“Sure!” Alex exclaimed. The two of them clinked their glasses, before taking a sip of their drinks. Alex could definitely taste the alcohol, and it was strong, just like Jack had predicted, but it was still good. he took another sip, surprised by how much he enjoyed it.  
“Do you like it?” Jack eventually asked.  
“Yeah, I do! I like how fruity it is,” Alex replied.  
“I figured you would, wine is usually pretty good for that reason. Now, don’t drink that too fast, or you’ll get fucked up just like that, and you’ll eventually feel like shit. You can have as much as you want, but definitely pace yourself,” Jack explained.  
“Oh, I will, I know I have to be a bit careful. I was really nervous about doing this, because I’ve always seen alcohol as this major anxiety trigger and evil thing, but this is showing me that that’s not necessarily true,” Alex stated, taking another sip.  
“I’m happy to hear that! I know you grew up seeing alcohol being abused and stuff, and I totally don’t blame you for not wanting to drink it and everything, but I’m happy that this is showing you that it’s not as scary as you’ve always expected it to be,” Jack said back.  
“Well, us doing this together definitely makes it easier. Thanks for letting me be kind of annoying about drinking constantly up until now,” Alex joked, laughing some.   
“I don’t think you’ve been annoying at all. You dealt with some trauma, and that’s hard. No one can make you get over it or be okay from it an y faster than you’re ready to be. I’d feel the same way as you about everything if I’d gone through what you did,” Jack continued.  
“I guess being so anxious about drinking after everything I went through isn’t such and odd thing, but I was definitely insecure about feeling that way. Like, I’ve been to parties within the last year where everyone wants to sneak some alcohol, and it’s always just freaked me out. I never said yes to it, but I was teased by almost everyone. I hated it, but I didn’t want to explain that alcohol was this big anxiety trigger for me, because of my dad. Like, he’s been sober for a little over two years now. I feel like I should be over all of this, but I’m just not,” Alex stated, sounding upset.  
“Like I said, you heal from your trauma at your own pace, and that’s perfectly fine. Fuck those other kids, they didn’t experience what you did, so they don’t get it. Even if you didn’t want to try a drink until you were twenty-one, or even older, I never would’ve judged you for it. I know it can be hard to deal with pressure from others but take all of this drinking stuff at your own pace, it’ll all be okay, and I’ll always be here when you need it. About this, and abut life in general, but you knew that,” Jack said, making them both smile.  
“Thanks, Jack, you really are the best. Everything with my dad used to feel so scary and intense and like I’d never be able to get past it, but tonight has shown me that I was wrong about that. I’m definitely not ready to drink, like, every weekend or anything, but this is a good start. Thanks for being so supportive,” Alex said, before finishing his glass.  
“Shit, you finished your first glass, how do you feel?” Jack asked, laughing some.  
“A little slower than usual, but in a good way,” Alex replied.  
“You’re officially tipsy! Do you want more? You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Jack stated, pouring himself another glass.  
“Sure, I’ll take a little more. Thanks for tonight, dude, you’re the best,” Alex said, as Jack poured both of them a second glass.  
“No problem, dude. I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Now, why don’t we turn on a show or movie to make this even more fun?” Jack suggested, grabbing the remote.  
“Hell yeah! Let’s watch something funny!” Alex exclaimed, laughing some.   
Jack couldn’t help but laugh at his friend as he channel surfed until he found a movie that they both liked. Even though drinking was still a bit nerve wracking to Alex, he was glad that Jack was with him for the first time he did it, since it was more fun like this, and Alex knew that Jack always had his best interest in mind, since he was the best friend that Alex ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this fic is slightly based off of my personal life, and is kind of like a part two to a story I wrote a while ago called "Alcohol". I've kind of been wanting to write something like this for a while, and I actually turned 21 this week, so I decided that now would be a good time to. I didn't actually drink until I got to college, so this is slightly inaccurate in describing my life, but I definitely felt how I made Alex feel when I did drink for the first time. Whenever I post something personal like this, it's always with the hope that it'll help someone in some way, so I hope this does. I'd love to continue posting constantly, and I do still have some fragments of ideas, but I'd love some requests! Please send them in if you have them, and thanks for reading, it really does mean a lot. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
